Legal Reports and Briefings

Through its legal activities Coalition Against Misuse of the Blasphemy Laws aims to strengthen the voice of religious minorities as well as majority Muslims falsely accused of blasphemy offences in Pakistan.

We will also seek and to advocate for criminal justice reform in the country. Our initial aim is to stop the misuse of the existing blasphemy law. However we believe that the law should ideally be repealed or at least amended.

Our work is targeted at three priority areas:

1. Undertaking research on the blasphemy law and how it is misused
2. Supporting other organisations and institutions that are addressing the issue
3. Providing professional support to the judiciary in Pakistan

Research

Coalition Against Misuse of the Blasphemy Laws undertakes research on the blasphemy law and its misuse. We do this to support evidence-based advocacy work for those accused, in line with international human rights law.

We believe that the full scope of this problem must be understood – the nature of the blasphemy law, how it is implemented, and additionally how it is currently misused – to effectively advocate for change.

We will be producing detailed reports and shorter briefings on specific issues to support awareness-raising work. All our reports are written by qualified experts in the field.

Working in partnership

Coalition Against Misuse of the Blasphemy Laws works in partnership with other organisations and institutions. We support and encourage governments, regional organizations and UN experts to address issues surrounding the blasphemy law in Pakistan. With the support of these bodies, we urge the Government of Pakistan to adopt policies which provide protection to people accused of committing blasphemy.

Providing professional support

We also build judicial capacity to deal with the misuse of the blasphemy law. Through professional advice and training aimed at judicial bodies in Pakistan we intend to educate judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police about their obligations to offer a fair trial, under international human rights law, either through online courses or on-the-ground training.

We offer a selection of materials available to read online or download for free.

“The influence of a given religion in a nation ought never to mean that citizens of another religion can be subject to discrimination in social life or, even worse, that violence against them can be tolerated.”

- Pope Emeritus Benedict

“There is a very clear sense that people are nervous about the misuse of the blasphemy law, as a tool of politics or “…a mob thing […] ” he added, flanked by two Pakistani bishops. He earlier told reporters: “Equality under the law is important…”

- Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

“The law for punishing blasphemy against the Prophet (sws) that is invoked in Pakistan has no foundation in the Qur'ān or Hadith.”